Never Let Em See You Sweat

It was late! Olivia was sitting on the bed sifting through some papers.....She was wearing a Pink Baby doll and matching pink bikini panties...

I sat quietly, staring at her...

I was shaking my head...

"You stare any harder Donnie Ray, your eyeballs are gonna fall out of their sockets.." said Olivia..

"I'm sorry....What are you looking at?" I asked..

"Don't be sorry...I don't mind you staring...just don't drool so much" she said ,smiling." Ennis told me that he was in court the day Ginger, his wife vanished... He was...but he wasn't the lead attorney...His partner....Jack Strassen was the lead attorney....This guy Joey  Mccullough? was on trial...He's a thief..Beverly and I have represented him before..Anyway..He was on trial for breaking into the Medical Examiner's Office.."said Olivia..

"The Medical Examiner's Office??? There is money there??" I asked.

"No...Ten years ago...Somebody broke into the Medical Examiner's Office, stole 500 old body bags...They were old, they were going to get rid of them anyway..."said Olivia..

"I don't understand...What was the value in that?" I asked..

"The word on the street was that several criminal organizations bought the bags...Over the years...several murder victims have shown up either in graves or in the water, concealed in these bags...."said Olivia..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh I see...So an organization would pay a thief a lot of money for this commodity...I get it.." I said.

"Joey  Mccullough?Dumb as a doorknob....He was a boxman, safe cracker and a heist guy...Has about five convictions on his sheet and was saved from jail more times than that by me, Bev, Ennis, Jack and others..No way he could have done this himself...Somebody gave him the blueprint and made the lionshare of the profits....He just got paid to do the job." said Olivia..

"Hmmmm so somebody probably paid for his lawyers , to keep him out of jail too?" I said.

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking." said Olivia...

"But what has this got to do with our case?" I asked..

"Ginger's body was in one of those bags...." said Olivia...

"Hmmmm...I'm going to look at the financials of Joe Mccullough and Jack Strassen...They are still alive aren't they?" I asked.

Olivia smiled.. "Yes..they're still alive..." she said and put her papers on the night stand... she motioned to me...

"Come over here..." she said..

I smiled..

"Don't look at me like that, come over here and let me kiss you.." she said..

We kissed passionately.....I didn't even bother to turn the lights out.....I slipped her panties down and straddled her across the bed..

"Damn girl, let me get in there...ummmmmmmmmmmmm" I moaned..

"Ummmmmmmmmm yes.....ouuuuuuuuuuuuu yess daddy, take mama.." she said....

She was so soft, so warm,so wet....I could've stayed inside her like this forever , I just kept moving slowly,savoring every minute,every second and she kept moaning and  and cooing so sensually...and I kept moving in and out ,in and out softly, gently with no signs of stopping anytime soon....I was sweating profusely....so was she.....Enjoying myself immensely....How could anybody feel this good?

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, oh my god...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Donnie Rayyyyyyyyyyyy!" she moaned.

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmph!" I moaned.

  SIX or SEVEN hours went by....The bed was squeaking and the headboard was slamming against the wall...We worried about our moans being heard out on the street... We were still making sweet love...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, I love you soooo much." cooed Olivia...


"I love you tooo..." I moaned...


"Ummmmmmmm, ouuuuuu, take all of me...Take it all daddy.." she cooed..Which got me aroused even more!!!


"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.." was all I could manage to get out...
The bed was squeaking and rocking something crazy...the headboard was slamming hard against the wall..Beverly was over Nelson's apartment...so we didn't worry about her hearing us....but the front window was open and the lights were on...Anybody walking by might have heard us...


"DONNIE RAY!!! Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..you are just showing off mister....oh my god!" she moaned..


"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" I hollered..



We managed to climax together...holding each other tightly..and breathing heavy...Kissing each other as if it were going out of style.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Mr. Alexander...ouuuuuuuu that was soooo nice." said Olivia in between wet sloppy kisses...

"Yes lord."I said.

She giggled and ran her index finger across my lips.

 "Oh My God Donnie Ray, that was awesome..Whoooooo."whispered Olivia.. She was soaking wet...sweating profusely...

"Wow!" I said, sweating profusely....

Olivia snuggled up under me and rested her head on my shoulders...We drifted off to sleep...

Unknown to either of us, Olivia's ex -husband,Elwood Barnes stood outside our Duplex... drinking a beer, hearing us...

"Damn it...that used to be me...THAT SHOULD BE ME!....Olivia...Zoey....I blew it with both of you.." he thought...Tears streamed down his face....

He thought about Zoey...He didn't know where she was living now...He hadn't seen her in weeks...Probably getting her brains screwed out too...by that young lawyer she was now seeing ,he thought! He began to bawl more now! He took his hankerchief out and blew his nose...

He was horny and drunk...Not a good combonation....He tossed his beer on the sidewalk, next to the other three he had downed.....Got in his car and pulled off!

II-

Ennis Deadwyler sat in the "Fishbowl" ,the nickname the detectives had for the interrogation room....He hadn't had any sleep....He was offered a cigarette...He was trying to quit anyway, so he refused...He was offered a cup of coffee, again he refused...He was offered a soda , he refused...He was offered a bottle of cold water...again , he refused...

Lt. Tragg had been questioning him all night long...He sat and stared at him without saying a word....Lt. Tragg was tired and frustrated...

"Look.....you've been here about 12 hours....Do something to help yourself....Lift this burden off of your shoulders man....It's been ten years....don't you want to lift the burden of what you did off your shoulders? we know you did it...We know you killed your wife....." he said.

"Really Lieutenant? You know this huh? Any evidence? Any eyewitnesses? " asked Olivia as she entered...

Beverly was right behind her...

"This interview is over...Either formally charge him or we are all leaving..." she said..

"You can't do this!!!! Look Deadwyler...You gonna let women run your life?? You're a man...act like a man!!!" screamed Lt. Tragg....

Beverly presented time locked photos taken in the bar Ennis was in ten years ago...

"The day his wife vanished....He was in the bar from 3:30 to 7:00...prior to that he was in court , trying a case..We have photographic evidence and the trial judges testimony....What you got?" she asked..

Lt. Tragg was clearly irritated with Beverly.....

"You have no forensic evidence....You have nothing....We have neighbors statements that shows Ennis and Ginger arguing at 7:15 am and her leaving alone at 7:30 am....Him eating at Sam Mother's , an hour later and in court and the bar the rest of the day..."said Olivia.

"He paid a hitman." screamed Lt. Tragg.

"If you're going to make that charge, I hope you have evidence.." said Olivia..

"She's right....I am not going into court and make a fool out of myself..."said ADA Nina Rios...

"Nina!!" said Lt. Tragg...

"Find me some more evidence...or another suspect.....or forget about it...." said Nina...."Olivia, you and Beverly can take your client.." she said..and winked at Olivia and Beverly.

"Come on Ennis." said Olivia as he stood up and walked out with them....

Lt. Tragg slammed his fists on the table...

"DAMN IT!" he yelled...

Once outside, Beverly passed Ennis , a hot tumbler of coffee and a hot roast beef sandwich...with french fries...

He smiled at Beverly...

"God Bless You baby!" he said...."Thank you too Livy."he said.

''We'll drop you off at your house...I'm sure you want to get a shower and some sleep." said Olivia..

"Yes lord..." he said...

III-

I meanwhile was in another part of town at the Law offices of Dewey,Cheatum and Howe and associates...I was looking for Jack Strasson...

"We haven't seen him today...He didn't call out."said the receptionist....

I had his cell phone number....both of them...I called both numbers....Both numbers went to voicemail...I called his fiance...She told me she hadn't heard from him and she gave me the address of his loft...

His car sat outside his loft....I felt it...It was cold, He hadn't driven it recently...

I walked up to his loft....the lights were out in his...but the door was open...I called out for him....

"JACK!!! Jack Strasson, are you here?"  Silence...

I opened the door with my foot and walked inside....

I put on my latex gloves....I was a seasoned Homicide Detective....No way I wanted to leave my fingerprints and DNA in his loft....

I walked into the living room and my search was over...

Hanging from the ceiling was Attorney Jack Strasson.....His face nearly blue....

I took the gloves off and felt the body.....It was cold, which meant he'd been dead at least six hours....Just my educated guess...

I took a chair and examined his neck.....Strangled manually before a rope was tied around it and hung...

I put the chair back....I was getting ready to walk out when Lt. Tragg and three uniformed policemen walked in...

''Whoa...What the hell are you doing here Alexander? " he said and pulled his service revolver..

''Put that away Lieutenant...I am doing the same thing you I assume you're doing....I came here to talk to Jack Strasson....I just got here about five minutes ago and found him hanging from the ceiling fan." I said.

Lt. Tragg looked at me skeptically...

"Look at the body...The face is blue...the body is cold...I just got here....Oh and check out the neck...He was strangled ,before whoever killed him wrapped this rope around him and hung him.." I said.

An officer brought Lt. Tragg what looked like a suicide note....

"It's a suicide note." he said.

"If he committed suicide...Then how did he get up there? There is no chair...under him...He didn't just fly up there and hang himself...This was staged and poorly staged.." I said..

Lt. Tragg looked at the scene...He knew I was right...

"Still , what brought you here?" he asked.

"I checked his financials, going back ten years...Right after that robbery of the M.E.'s Office in 2007..He got a substantial amount of cash ,wired into his account...It came from what I suspect is a dummy account from the Caymen Islands...The account is now closed...I checked...He was representing Joey McCoullough..A known Heist Guy and Box man who the cops believed was behind the robbery.... Word on the street had it that a number of criminal organizations bought those old body bags and over the years...several murder victims have turned up in them." I said.

"Okay,but what has this got to do with your wife's client?" asked Lt. Tragg..

"Her body turned up in one of those old body bags, when they found her yesterday!" I said. "Maybe she knew something about it...It was rumored, according to what I heard on the street that she and Jack Stratton, the partner to her husband were sleeping together.." I said..

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh...welllllllllllll.." said Lt. Tragg..."You used to be a cop didn't you?" he asked..

"Yeah...I was a Homicide Detective in New Orleans..." I said.

"Olivia pays you well doesn't she?  Not to mention...She is a very beautiful woman...Annoying as hell from my perspective...but I can't deny, she is a looker.." said Lt. Tragg...

 Yes, she was...I thought about her recently at an NAACP Legal Defense fund   awards benefit where she was one of the guest speakers....I sat in the audience just looking at her and thinking about how lucky I was....

I said nothing to Lt. Tragg though, I just smiled and nodded my head.......I turned and began to walk out...

"Check his DNA....You said that Ginger was three months pregnant....He could possibly be the father. That was the rumor on the street.  "I said and walked out....

IV-

Olivia and Beverly were enjoying lunch at a Tony little Bistro in town...Some hours later..

"I had Ennis give a urine sample, a blood sample and a saliva swab, so they could do a DNA test....." said Olivia..

"Oh yeah?" said Beverly....

"And...He's not the father of Ginger's baby...." said Olivia..

"Did she know she was pregnant?" asked Beverly...

"Oh yeah....I have records or copies of them from her OBGY Doctor...She knew...She wasn't too happy about it either..but it doesn't name a father..."said Olivia..

"Auntay?" asked Beverly...

"Yes baby!" said Olivia..

 Nelson drove me home this morning and we found  four beer cans on the ground near the duplex...."she said.

Nelson picked up one of the cans and went...

"Wow this is the good stuff...Not domestic Brew....Not the type you'd find in Josies..." he said..

"It was four cans....Like somebody had been standing there listening and drinking beer..." she said.

Olivia blushed something terrible..

''Who would do that?" she asked..." Donnie Ray and I found the same beer cans in front of the house last week! He doesn't drink that brand and  most people around here don't litter." she said. Olivia blushed.. She was silent for a moment.. Then she smiled and she said. "Well if they were there last night, they sure got an ear full...We...We..We uh didn't close the windows ,nor did we turn out the lights..and Well..I-I-I suppose we were a little loud last night.." she said.

Beverly cracked up laughing...

"Auntay, you sure are funny.....D.R. sure Loves you...Lawd have mercy...Yall been married now goin on three years and he's still chasin you around the room huh???.." laughed Beverly...

"I like it though. He's catching me too, if you know what I mean."said Olivia, blushing...

"Auntay, why you blushin? This is me...Your little niece, remember?? "said Beverly, laughing......

"Nelson loves you the same way..."said Olivia defensively..

"Yes he does...I have to fight him off to get out of his apartment sometimes...I like it better when he stays with me, because he's usually asleep when I wake up...Aren't we lucky women Auntay?? We found us some good men, who adore us?" said Beverly...

"I thank God everyday...you just don't know." said Olivia..

"Me too!" said Beverly...

I walked in just then and joined them...

"You guys order yet?" I asked..

"No we were waiting for you....." said Olivia..

"Jack Strasson is dead!" I said.

"What? Dead??" said Beverly

"Murdered....but set up to look like a suicide...With a cheap suicide note written on a computer...."I said.

"Auntay had Ennis leave a DNA sample..."said Beverly...

"He's not the father of that baby...It's someone else.." said Olivia..

"Could be Jack Strasson!!! I told Lt. Tragg to get Strasson's DNA sample while they could and find out if he was the father...It was rumored that Strasson and Ginger were sleeping together..."I said.

"If he is the father, that puts Ennis in the clear..."said Beverly..

"No it creates a motive...He killed her out of jealousy...She was pregnant by another man."I said.

"I don't know if he knew.." said Olivia..

"Well they can't charge Ennis with Strasson's murder...The body was cold...Like he'd been killed sometime last night...Ennis was down at Central booking then..."I said.

"Right!  Bev and I just got him out a few hours ago."said Olivia..

"It seems like somebody else is involved...Somebody in the shadows..." said Beverly as the waitress took our orders....

"Funny you would say that Shortcake...I've been thinking that same thing.." I said.  "Liv ,take my order home." I said.

''Where are you going?" she asked.

''To catch a thief." I said.

V-

Joey Mccullough was sitting in the bar with Attorney A.J. Miller drinking a beer.....

I walked over to their table...

"No don't get up on my account...NEITHER OF YOU!" I said forcefully....

''Who the hell are you?" said A.J. Miller..

"I know who you are...an Attorney....A.J. Miller...Your name comes up a lot...." I said.

"A lot in what?" he asked..

I turned to Joey...

"And you...You must be Joey...Ten years ago they suspected you of masterminding the theft of all those body bags from the morgue...I'm bettin you made a killin...no pun intended, selling them to all of the criminal organizations that needed them....Bodies been showin up in em for years and the police still haven't recovered all of the bags...Interesting.."I said..

"You a cop?" asked A.J. Miller.

Joey looked terrified...I didn't answer.

"Nice job you did on Jack Strassen, but the cops didn't buy it...They know for instance that he was strangled BEFORE he was hung and you could have used a chair, to really make it look like a suicide...but you didn't....Dead giveaway...Again, no pun intended."I said.

A.J. Miller stared daggers at Joey.....Who looked terrified...He was sweating profusely....

"You know A.J.  At first I thought you might have killed Jack Strassen, but you never get your hands dirty...You always get somebody else to do your dirty work right?  Isn't that right Joey?" I asked.

Joey didn't say a word...but he looked like he might want to cry!

A.J. Miller stared angrily at me...

"You better be a cop!" he said.

"No...you'd better stay by your phone and wait to hear from me and have your checkbook ready!" I said.

I smiled and stood up...

''See ya round A.J." I said..

He looked like he wanted to ring somebody's neck! Some hours later, I ran into Olivia and Beverly again...

 "You won't believe this..."said Olivia

"Tragg re-arrested Ennis." said Beverly...

"WHAT?? There is no way he murdered Ginger.." I said.

"It's not for murdering Ginger...It's a new charge...Murdering Jack Strasson." said Olivia.

"Oh For the love of pete!" I said...


(CONCLUSION NEXT)